Interconnected pressure and fluid control for pressing machines



De- 6, 1949 J. M. RUPP INTERCONNECTED PRESSURE AND FLUID CONTROL FOR PEESSING MACHINES 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed 001;. 10, 1945 J. M. .RUPP INTERCONNECTED PRESSURE AND FLUID CONTROL FOR PREssING MACHINES Dec. 6, 1949 Filed Oct. 10, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 [numb/or cfosepMup/O L/qgr'gs.

Dec, 6, 1949 .1. M. RUPP 2,490,711

INTERCONNECTED PRESSURE AND FLUID CONTROL FOR PRESSING MACHINES Filed Oct. l0, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 7, 5 54' 55 ,l/ [55 :P- n :si in -J O mr' i 7 1"' l 64. 1 62 45/ 5 5.4' /2 Patented Dec. 6, 1.949

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE INTERCONNECTED PRESSURE AND FLUID CONTROL FOR PRESSING MACHINES The invention relates generally to machines for pressing clothing or the like and more particularly to a machine of the so-called puff iron type.

The general object of the invention is to provide a novel machine of the foregoing type, the operation of which is simplified by virtue of the fact that both of the operators hands are free at all times to handle the article being pressed, the machine being controlled entirely by the foot for all of its functions.

Another object is to provide a novel machine of the foregoing type, which is provided with a heated buck and movable buck, as well as with means for subjecting the articles to steam during the pressing, and with means for subjecting the articles to a vacuum both before and lat the conclusion of the pressing operation, with both of said means operable automatically in the sequence stated as an incident to the movement of the movable buck.

A further object is to provide a novel machine of the foregoing type, which is provided with means for steaming the articles before being pressed, in addition to the automatic steaming provided for during the pressing, said means being controlled by the operators foot.

Still another object is to provide a novel machine of the foregoing type, utilizing a single source of steam to provide the heat for the heated buck, to supply the steam for steaming the articles, and to produce the vacuum, thus simplifying its installation in the average clothes pressing shop.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view, taken from front to rear, of a pressing machine of the pui iron type embodying the features of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a, fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a rear View of the machine.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional View taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged horizontal sectional View taken on the line 5--5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of `the piping in the machine.

As heretofore mentioned, the present pressing machine is of the so-called puff iron type. A machine of this type is utilized in pressing and cleaning establishments for pressing portions of articles of clothing which are of such shape and size that they are diicult to handle on 5 since the pressing of these parts on a big machine would involve mussing of the other parts of the dress. Because of the character of the work performed on a machine of the present type, a heavy pressure is not required. However, the

l maximum convenience in handling the articles should be provided so that the article may be held in proper place in the machine to press a certain portion without mussing other parts of the article that have already been pressed.

l The present machine permits the greatest con- Venience in its use since the operators hands are free at all times to handle the article being pressed, the control of the machine being accomplished entirely by the operators foot. The

machine not only provides for pressing but als for steaming articles during the pressing operation or at any other time desired and for applying vacuum thereto to draw air through the cloth of the articles to remove dust or to remove moisture resulting from the steaming operation.

In its preferred form, the machine comprises generally a frame structure supporting a lower immovable buck and an upper, swingable buck cooperating therewith. Movement of the upper buck toward the lower is effected by a foot pedal. The lower buck is provided with a steam chamber so that it is heated during operation of the machine. The lower buck is also provided with means for steaming the articles being pressed and for applying vacuum thereto, as stated above.

The control of the vacuum and of the steaming is automatic as an incident to the movement of the upper buck toward the lower. The machinev is also so arranged that steam may be applied to the article at any time regardless of the position of the upper buck,a separate pedal control being provided for this purpose. The vacuum producing means is preferably of the steam-operated type so that the entire machine may be operated from a single source of steam to heat the buck, to steam the articles, and to apply vacuum thereto.

As shown in the drawings, the machine includes a frame, in the present instance comprising a, base flange I0, on which is mounted an upright section in the form of a sheet Il of metal bent to provide a curved front wall I2 and spaced side walls. The sheet Il is cut away in front adjacent its upper end to receive a table I3 with the frame extending upwardly to a height above the table in the rear thereof, as indicated at I4. To render the frame suii'ciently rigid, a cross brace I5, in the form of a plate, extends between the side wall portions adjacent their lower end, while a forwardly facing sheet I6 is secured between the side walls of the upper portion I4 of the frame.

Mounted above the table I3 at the front of the machine is a lower, xed or immovable buck and an upper,. swi`ngab1e buck, indicatedgenerallyV at 2l. Both bucks are provided with the irsual padding on their coacting surfaces between which the articles are adapted to be pressed. The upper buck 2I is carried on an'. arm! 22,. which? preferably is in the form of a clliain'iiel tof render it rigid, and the arm 22 is pivotally supported on a horizontal axis by a rod 23 extending' cross;- wise between the sides of the upwardly en# tending portion I4 of the frame.

To provide for movement of the upper buck 2l toward and from the lower buck, a spring 24 isv positioned; in the. rear part. or the x'z'ia'chine;A with. the upper end of. the spring4 hooked: to: the?` rear end of. the arm. 22 andV thelower en'd of the spring secured. tothe frame, 'as-at 25e.. The; springl 24 thus tends' to lift the upper buckl2if upwardly' away'- from. the lower buck 20;

To effect downward movement of' the upper.' buck..V into: engagement with. the` lower buck, a tie" rod 26 is securedl at its upper endA tothe' rear end' of the channel or arm. 22', and its` lower end' is'. secured to the rear end of a forwardly extending lever 2.1 provided with a pedal. portion: (il)l at the front of the machine. The lever 21'! is pvotally supported by a cross rod 3I carried-- by the sidel walls of the frame; and a slot 32 is provided' in the cross plate I5 through which. the:v lever 2.1: extends, the cross plate I5 thus serving to guide the movement of. the lever.

The lower or immovable buck 29 is provided with a heating chamber' 33 in its lower portion, and: heat is supplied thereto from asource of steam communicating with: a pipe 34. Connected. to the pipe 34 is a line SlieXtendingto a vertically' positioned pipe 3S leading to the steam chamber 330i the lower buck 28.. rlll-ius, steanrwillbeI supplied to the chamber 33 to-eect heating oft-he lower buck, To drain the condensate from4 the chamber 33, a vertically extending. pipe 3l' ispira-- vided, the pipe 31. being connected` to a. suitable. drain. (not shown). u

Since steaming of the. articles when. being pressed and applying vacuumthereto'are features. of. the machine, the lower buckis providedwith. a series of perforations Ml in.. its upper surface. underlying. the usual paddingv onthe buck.. The perforations 4il'open from a steam chestATl within` the. lower4 buck but separated from the chamber 33. To supply steam theretmaline 4'2`. branching from the pipe 34" is connected' to a vertically. extending pipe 43 opening. into the steam chest'. 4l'. Flow of Vsteam through the linev 422 t`o the steam chest 4I is controlled by. an automatically operated valve 44- hereinafter more fully described. Steam may also be. suppliedltothe verftically extending pipe 43 and thesteamichestll from a branch 45 connected to the heating. line. and controlled by a valve 46". 'l'ie valve 46' is adapted' to be operatedby apedal 4.1. 4extending forwardly of the. machine at one side ot the pedal 3u and. supported. in a bracket. 551 secured', to. the. frame. The rear. end of the. pedal 41. iscOnnected tothe valve by means of. avertically. extending rod. 5I.V Thus, by operating. the pedal 4,13. steam.r may be: supplied to thelower buckat any time at. the. will. of. the operator..

sur

To apply vacuum to the lower buck, a steamoperated vacuum producing means, indicated at 52, is provided. The steam-operated vacuum producing means 52 is connected to the pipe 34 for its supply of steam by a line 53. Extending upwardly from the vacuum producing means 52 is a vacuum pipe 54 opening at its top end into the steam chest 4I. Flow of steam through the pipe 53 and, therefore',- applic'atiori of vacuum t'o the lower buck is controlled by an automatically operated valve 55 mounted in the line 53. By applying vacuum to the steam chest 4I, any condensate remaining therein after applicationoi steam' will* be drawn downwardly through the pipe 54, and thereafter air will be drawn in through thetp of the buck and any article placed thereonl to eifeot drying thereof. The vacuum producing means 52 discharges to a drain. The foin* pipes 36, 31, 43 and 54 provide a support for the lower buck 20 and are preferably surrounded by' afscr'eenz guard. 56 to prevent the operator'fro'm contacting the hot steam' pipes and to prevent. the articles being. pressed from contacting. them'.v

The' preliminary vacuumV step serves to hold an article' in place' after' the operator removes his hands from the article' while' the; head. is: movingv into pressing engagement. Thus, assuming the`= article being. pressed is provided. with pleats. The operator can arrange these pleats. and hold them. down with his hands, but. obviously his hands haveto be removedV before thev head contacts the work. In. that short space of time, the pleats can easily'sl'iift..outofY position. and. will not be-'properly pressed.. Another instance is in the: casel of agarmenti whichv overhangs the bed. so that only aportion thereof.. will be pressedbetween the. head and: the bede The-weight of the overhanging portionyvill. tend at least todistort the part lying on thebed, if not to2 cause the whole article toY fall ofi' the bed. The operator cannot hold sucha garment in place until clamped by the-headyy The operators-handsmustnecessarily be removed before thehead contacts the garment. The preliminary vacuum` step,v however, providesa-meansior e holdingsuchf articles in. place after the operator has removed hisfhand.

rAs heretofore. mentioned-, the application of steam and vacuiimto` the lower buck is automatically controlled asanincident to. movement of the upper Ybuclcfil'. To this end, the. valves 4'4vr and. 55. are. adapted to. be ope'ratedlthrough.move4 ment of. the lever. As. shown.. herein, each of the valves 44 and 45, which are mounted. at opposite. sidesof'. the machine, is. provided witl'ran inwardly extending', spring-operated valve. stem (ib slidably supported. by a braclet 6T extending from the si'de Walls ofthe frame. At its inner' end,.each=valve.stem Sllcarries a-roller 62 adapted' te coact witha cam means,.indicated` generally at G31. The cam mansinthe present instance. comprises-a at' barrll` secured' at its lower erd' to the rear end or thel'ever 21, as indicated at 65. The upper end of tlfle cam bar 64i's' gidedii across brace G'S extending between the side walls of' the frame. The cam' bar 64 is' positioned so that its opposite side edges respectively engage the rollers 62"andsaidledgesofthev cam bar" are providedwith. cam sections. 61. to effect operation of the valves 44' and 55`.

The. cam. sections 6.1. are so positioned. that, during. the. initial. portion of" the depression. of. the. pedal- 3l!! steam. is admitted tothe vacuum. producing device 52. by thelvalve- 55. to. apply vacuumtto the. lower. buck... Astlae upper. buck. 2A-v approaches its lowermost position,` the vacuum is shut off, and at substantially the same time the valve 44 is opened to permit steam to enter the steam chest dl. This permits the articles being pressed to be steamed during the time when pressure is exerted thereon. When the pedal 30 is released to permit the spring 26 to raise the upper buck 2l, the valve B4 is shut off shortly after the upward movement starts. Just after the valve 4d is closed, the valve 55 is opened to create a vacuum in the pipe 54. Such vacuum first withdraws any condensate within the steam chest il and thereafter draws air downwardly through the article being pressed to remove the moisture imparted thereto during the steaming. An operator soon becomes accustomed to using the pedal 3B for this purpose and, therefore, can prolong the steaming and application of vacuum to the articles as long as he desires. Should it be desired to apply steam to an article when the upper buck 2l is raised, the operator depresses the pedal B7 and permits steam to iiow to the steam chest from the branch line 55.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that I have provided a novel pressing machine of the puff iron type. The operation of the machine is simplified since the operators hands are free at all times to handle the article being pressed. The entire control of the pressure between the two bucks as well as the control of the steaming and application of vacuum is exercised by the operators foot. The application of steam and vacuum occurs automatically in a predetermined sequence as an incident to the operation of the movable buck, and may be prolonged as desired by the operator by simply holding the pedal 30 in the desired position. For steaming when the bucks are open, the pedal 41 provides a ready means for effecting such result. The machine .is readily adaptable for use in the average cleaning and pressing Shop since heating of the buck, steaming and application of vacuum are all operated from a single source of steam. Shops of this character invariably have such a source for various operations and, therefore, the machine ts in with other equipment lused in the shop. While I have shown herein a pair of bucks of substantial size, smaller bucks than that shown and bucks of other shapes may obviously be used upon the machine.

I claim:

1. A pressing machine of the puff iron type comprising a frame, cooperating fixed and movable bucks carried by said frame, a pedal for moving the movable buck, a source of steam, a line connecting said source with said xed buck, steam-operated vacuum producing means connected to said source and to said fixed buck, a pair of valves respectively controlling the flow of steam to said line and to said vacuum producing means, and a single cam member connected to said pedal and having a pair of cam surfaces for operating the respective valves to supply steam and apply vacuum to the xed buck in a predetermined sequence.

2. A pressing machine of the puff iron type comprising a frame, cooperating fixed and movable bucks carried by said frame, a pedal for moving the movable buck, a source of steam, a line connecting said source with said fixed buck, steam-operated vacuum producing means connected to said source and to said xed buck, a pair of valves respectively controlling the flow of steam to said line and to said vacuum producing means, and a cam bar movable by said pedal adapted to operate said valves in a predetermined sequence.

3. A pressing machine of the puff iron type comprising a frame, cooperating nxed and movable bucks carried by said frame, a pedal for moving the mcvabie buck, a source of steam, a line connecting said source with said fixed buck, steam-operated vacuum producing means connected to Said source and to said fixed buck, a pair of valves located at opposite sides of said frame and respectively controlling the flow of steam to said line and to said vacuum producing means, and a bar located within said frame and movable by said pedal and having cam means on its opposite edges and adapted to operate said valves in a predetermined sequence.

Il. A pressing machine of the puff iron type comprising a frame, cooperating fixed and `Inovable bucks carried by said frame, a pedal for moving the movable buck, a source of steam, a line connecting said source with said fixed buck, steam-operated vacuum producing means connected to said nxed buck, a second line connecting said source with said vacuum producing means, a pair of valves respectively located in said lines, anda pair of cam surfaces actuated by said pedal and adapted to operate said valves, said cam surfaces being arranged to apply vacuum at the start of the movement of the one buck toward the other and to supply steam thereto during the final portion of said movement and when the bucks are engaged, and to shut off the steam and thereafter to apply vacuum during the movement of the one buck away from the other.

5. A pressing machine of the puff iron type comprising a frame, a lower buck fixedly mounted on said frame, a cooperating upper buck swingably mounted on said frame, a pedal for swinging said upper buck, said lower buck having a chest and a perforated top therefor, a source of steam, a line connecting said source with said chest, steam-operated vacuum producing means connected to said chest, a second line connecting said vacuum producing means to said source, and cam means actuated by said pedal for controlling the admission of steam to said lines and adapted to operate said vacuum producing means both before the introduction of steam into the chest to hold the work in place on the lower buck and after the introduction of steam into said chest whereby any condensate in said chest will thereby be removed.

JOSEPH M. RUPP.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,397,202 Braley Nov. 15, 1921 1,501,685 Parker July 15, 1924 1,536,637 Thurnauer May 5, 1925 1,556,625 Pomeroy Oct. 13, 1925 1,686,266 Cohen Oct. 2, 1928 1,957,250 Davis May 1, 1934 2,022,176 Baldwin Nov. 26, 1935 2,306,566 Randall Dec. 29, 1942 

